Home > Webinars > Webinar: We Speak Translate: What does a Google App have to do with Immigrant Settlement?

Webinar: We Speak Translate: What does a Google App have to do with Immigrant Settlement?

July 25, 2017

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Building digital capacity in human service NGOs can be challenging. Forward looking agencies are looking at how they can use technology as a tool in resettlement and integration. The We Speak Translate project is a unique collaboration between Google Translate and the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria (Canada) that unlocks the potential of the Google Translate app for refugee resettlement and newcomer inclusion in local communities.

How does a Google App become both an integration tool and a symbol of open, inclusive communities? The project identifies “power users” in the community who are committed to helping newcomers navigate their new city by reducing the no. 1 barrier to participation and inclusion: language. For both Google and the immigrant settlement sector, Google Translate is an indispensable integration tool that can be replicated in any city, anywhere in the world.

Join Kate Longpre, Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria (Canada) in conversation with Aleem Ali, Welcoming Cities (Australia) to discuss how immigrant service organizations can use smart technology and corporate partnerships to achieve deeper impact; how the We Speak Translate project, supported by Google, is training hundreds of “power users” to build awareness about resettlement, integration and inclusion; and how community organizations and local businesses in your city can get involved.

Speakers

Kate Longpre is the Community Integration Coordinator at ICA. Kate works strategically across sectors to ensure that resettled refugees entering the Greater Victoria area are successfully integrated into welcoming communities. Kate approached Google Translate in September 2016 with the idea for the We Speak Translate project. In April 2017 the project launched in Victoria, BC, the first location worldwide to initiate the project. Since the launch, Kate has provided We Speak Translate training to community groups, organizations, institutions and business. At present over 500 community stakeholders have received the training and interest in the project continues to expand across Canada.

Kate spent time living and working in Ecuador and the Caribbean before relocating to Victoria in 2005. Her work experience in Victoria included positions at the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Victoria, Fairfield Gonzales Community Centre, the James Bay Community Centre and Manager of the Victoria West Community Centre. Kate holds a Masters in Community Development through the School of Public Administration at the University of Victoria.Aleem Ali, National Manager, Welcoming Cities (Brisbane, Australia)

As a cultural & social entrepreneur, Aleem loves little more than working with passionate people to implement great ideas that advance the common good.

Awarded and recognised for his contribution to the community, Aleem has spent the past 20 years seeding and mentoring the development of leading programs, initiatives and enterprises. He is a mentor and advisor to various start-ups, community enterprises and government panels; and, a respected presenter on issues related to cultural diversity and social cohesion.

Currently, Aleem is the National Manager of the new Australian initiative, Welcoming Cities.